African National Congress (ANC) MP Makhosi Khoza on Wednesday rejected an offer for protection services by Parliament, saying she cannot expect her ‘executioner’ to have mercy for her.
"I’m being persecuted because I can no longer tow the party line. I cannot accept corruption, looting, a disregard for the people who brought us to power and the propping up of growing kleptocracy," Khoza said in a statement.
Khoza has been the subject of threats and intimidation for nearly three months after she started speaking out on the state of the ANC and its president, Jacob Zuma.
"My statements in the recent past simply mirror that which millions of South Africans have been saying, they have had enough. To side with the ANC of today requires me to disregard my moral fibre."
"It is within this context that I have chosen not to accept the police protection that was finally offered to me by Parliament and the SAPS. These issues are all interrelated. I cannot expect my "executioner" to plead mercy for me."
National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and National Council of Provinces chairperson Thandi Modise on July 17 agreed to work with the police to provide security for Khoza.
They reached the decision after having received a security assessment, spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said in a statement. Police compiled the assessment after Khoza began receiving threats in April.
This followed her oversight work as chairperson of the public service and administration portfolio committee.
Her committee inspected a Mpumalanga hospital and was scathing of the institution's functioning.
She received more death threats for being critical of President Jacob Zuma in a post on social media. Khoza posted screen grabs of the threatening texts on her Facebook page on July 16.
They said she had "21 days to live". She claimed at a public debate on Tuesday, July 11, that her daughter had received death threats from the same people.
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